Welcome to Camden Falls

April 16, 2007
Martin launches her Main Street series with this appealing though somewhat sleepy tale, set in a small Massachusetts town. Eleven-year-old Flora and her younger sister, Ruby, whose parents died five months earlier in a car accident, come to live with their big-hearted grandmother, Min. Their new home is one of eight attached row houses, whose other residents include bright, brassy Olivia, who is Flora's age; an earnest teenage boy with Down syndrome; a pair of teenage sisters, one conscientious and kind, the other initially aloof and rebellious; and a patient, elderly man devoted to his wife, who suffers from dementia. Also playing supporting roles are a girl who lives in a run-down house on the edge of town, whose gruff, defensive veneer eventually cracks; and a mysterious older woman who does mending in Min's sewing store. A passionate needleworker, Flora relishes the hours she spends helping out and doing sewing projects in the shop. Readers may agree with Ruby—whose passion is dancing and singing—that time spent there is not all that lively. But Martin deftly reveals the novel's affecting underpinning—the girls' adjustment to their new life without their parents. Helping sensitive Flora with the transition is her discovery of her mother's diary and a box of old photos and letters, which helps her feel that indeed there "was a place for her in this room, in this house, in this town." The sisters begin school in their new town in Needle and Thread
, due in August. Ages 9-12.

August 1, 2007
Gr 4-6-The first book in this series hints at a great variety of events yet to come. When Flora and Ruby Northrup's parents die in an automobile accident, their grandmother moves them to her family home, a stately old row house in Camden Falls, MA. Soon the girls are caught up in helping Grandma at her shop, Needle and Thread; making friends; and finding their way in a new community. Although they have moments of sorrow as they think about their parents, they also have fun planning the annual barbeque and discovering letters and family photos in Min's attic. Each sister stands as an individual, and there is enough action to keep the plot moving along. The solid sense of place and the ability of the characters to overcome adversity continue in the second book. Summer is over and sixth-grader Flora and fourth-grader Ruby enter Camden Falls Elementary School. Ruby is all set to join the children's chorus and try out for a play, two ambitions that distract her from serious schoolwork. Flora finds herself missing her old school, but when her teacher tells her that she taught her mother, she begins to feel more comfortable. It is a special year for the town, which is celebrating its 350th birthday, and many of the activities at school focus on this event. Both books have an old-fashioned feel and some stock characters. They'll appeal to readers more interested in characters and values than true action and adventure."Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2007
In Welcone to Camden Falls, Flora and her younger sister, Ruby, recently orphaned, have come to live with their grandmother, Min, who co-owns a fabric shop in a New England town. The adjustment to life in Camden Falls is difficult, but the girls make new friends, and Flora finds solace as she gets more deeply into her hobby, sewing. Martin does some unusual things here, telling the story from several perspectives and filling it with modern-day problems, even as the feel of the book harkens back to an earlier time. An almost dizzying array of characters is introduced, including one neighbor who has Down syndrome, another who has Alzheimers disease, and a third who is struggling with aging. A new friend must deal with a mother who drinks and a father who is abusive. Sometimes these problems overwhelm the story, but Martins easy style, appealing characters, and obvious love of place will keep readers going.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)

July 9, 2007
Meyers’s honeyed, youthful voice gives Martin’s latest, the first in the Main Street series for middle-graders, the easygoing pace one might expect from the series’ title. Eleven-year-old Flora and her younger sister Ruby are orphaned when their parents are killed in a car accident. Five months after the tragedy, the siblings move with their grandmother Min to her home in the sleepy small town of Camden Falls, Mass. As the family grieves and adjusts to new circumstances—“getting their life back in order”—listeners are taken along to meet interesting friends and neighbors in Camden Falls. Kind-hearted Min co-owns a sewing shop, Needle and Thread, and lives in one of eight connected row houses in a historic building—all fodder for the sort of diverse community interactions, budding friendships and dramas that are the stuff of many of the author’s popular works. Unfortunately, Meyers’s characterizations are uneven, in contrast to her solid, straight narrative passages. Ruby’s voice is too babyish and whiny, and the girls’ energetic new pal Olivia is given an affected child characterization that is equally grating. Her takes on some of the older town residents, as well as a boy with Down Syndrome are slightly more successful. A bonus author interview, in which she discusses her characters, series and career is included. Ages 9-up.